An appointee for President Donald Trump's Commission on White House Fellowships was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent months to lobby for Saudi Arabia.

The Center For Public Integrity reported Richard Hohlt has earned roughly $430,000 from the Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry this year for "advice on legislative and public affairs strategies."

Trump said on multiple occasions during his presidential campaign he wanted to prevent lobbyists from working in the government. After taking office, he signed an order that bans government officials for life from working as a lobbyist for foreign governments.

The Commission on White House Fellowships makes recommendations to the president who it feels should receive White House fellowships. Members serve on it in a part-time role.

Trump did not hire him to provide advice on Saudi Arabia or any other nation, Hohlt told the Center For Public Integrity.

"That is not my role," Hohlt said.

Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn was fired less than a month after starting his job at the White House on the day Trump was inaugurated for failing to disclose contacts he had with Russians. It was later revealed he had signed a lobbying contract with a company that had ties to Turkey and Russia worth several hundred thousand dollars. He reportedly blocked a military plan against the Islamic State (ISIS) shortly before Trump took office. Turkey opposed the plan.